Friday, 1 January 2016

2016 | Hopes & Goals

Happy New Year!! As we begin 2016, I'm looking forward to a year full of new promise, and I've got a few things I'd like to achieve over the coming twelve months. I'm not a fan of calling them "resolutions", mainly because of the negative associations that carries, so we're calling them Hopes & Goals; essentially, though, they're still a collection of things I'd like to do this year.

• Clear my overdraft. This is one I'm carrying forward from last year; whilst I started out strongly and was on track to have it paid off by the end of the year, it all went a little wrong when I bought my car, so now is the time to get back to working my way out of the negative numbers. I need to start being a bit more careful with my spending and consciously making an effort to save pennies where I can - every little helps! I am still paying off my Masters loan and also the money my Dad lent me to insure my car, so there's a significant chunk of my income gone almost before I see it each month, but nonetheless if I'm sensible it shouldn't be too hard to clear my overdraft by the end of the year.
• Get a full-time, paid Assistant Psychologist post. Again, this is a goal I'm carrying forward from 2015; whilst I did make progress towards this last year, and had several interviews, unfortunately nothing came to fruition. I'm hoping with the one day per week I'll be working as a paid Assistant Psych starting this month, I'll be able to gain that little bit more relevant, paid experience which will make all the difference for me! It's frustrating because I know I'm doing the right things, so really it's just a case of time I think.
• Read at least 25 books. I've reduced this from my goal of 50 last year as I fell so short! 25 is still more than I managed to read in 2015 so I'll have to push myself, but I love reading and want to spend more time getting lost in a good book. I got a couple of books for Christmas and I've got a huge heap that my Uncle lent me as well, so I've really got no excuse for this one!
• Streamline my make-up collection. I'm finding myself leaning more and more towards skincare when it comes to beauty purchases; now don't get me wrong, I still love make-up and could easily lose an afternoon browsing the aisles of Boots, swatching away and spending a small fortune... But there's no need. I have too much make-up, half of it never sees the light of day, and it's just taking up space! This year I'm hoping to finish off some products that I've been dragging my heels with, get rid of the things I know I'll never use, shake up my storage, and generally streamline so that I have a collection that I love and get good use from.
• Keep looking after my health. I joined a local gym towards the end of 2015 and have really enjoyed swimming three or four times a week; I find it so relaxing, and it's also really satisfying seeing my fitness improve with time. However, I want to get back into running regularly as well, so I'm aiming to fit in at least one or two runs per week, as well as overhauling my diet. Overall I eat pretty well but I do have a horrendous sweet tooth and the major problem that I can't just eat one chocolate - I'll finish the packet. I don't want to cut treats out altogether but I know I could do to cut back a little. This isn't a very specific goal, I realise, but I know what needs to be done and for me, it's all about the little things that add up.
• Make time for friends. I do think of myself as pretty good at keeping in touch with people but in fact, it's so easy to look at the date and realise it's over a month since I've spoken to a particular friend, or that I haven't actually seen any friends this week - which isn't good! Spending time with people I love is important to me, and I want to commit to spending more time doing just that. I'm aiming to commit to seeing at least two friends, on separate occasions, each month; even if it's just popping round for a cup of tea or going out for a walk, it's nice to re-connect and spend time with those who matter.

Have you set yourself any goals for the new year? I'd love to hear what you're hoping to achieve in 2016! Any tips on achieving my own goals would also be welcome, please share your goal-achieving secrets!!

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